3 Palestinians injured after Jewish extremists attack West Bank village near Nablus

A Palestinian examines damage to a shop allegedly from Jewish extremist stone-throwing in Huwarra, near Nablus, on January 24, 2022.

Aaron Boxerman writes in Times of Israel, “Jewish extremists hurled stones at Palestinians while parading through a West Bank town near Nablus on Monday night, injuring three people and smashing cars throughout the village, Palestinian officials and Israeli rights groups said. A convoy of settlers drove through Hawara, honking their horns and blasting music to celebrate the release of an Israeli imprisoned last year for throwing stones at Palestinians, according to an Israeli security official. The extremists later began throwing stones at local Palestinians.”

“The friction began when a number of cars driving on Road 60 through Hawara, threw stones at businesses and parked cars and caused much damage,” the Israeli military said in a statement.  At least 20 Palestinian cars were damaged and storefronts smashed in the village, the left-wing Yesh Din rights group said. An Israeli police spokesperson said officers were investigating the incident. Local Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas said in a phone call that a 15-year-old Palestinian from Hawara was rushed to a Nablus hospital after being struck in the head by a stone thrown by a Jewish Israeli.”…

“Hawara mostly lies in the West Bank’s Area C, where Israel maintains full military and civilian control. An Israeli checkpoint at the northern end of the village has frequently seen clashes between Palestinians and soldiers. To the northeast lies Yitzhar, widely seen as one of the West Bank’s most hardline Israeli settlements. The Jewish Israeli former prisoner was reportedly being taken back to his home in the town following his release. Israeli security officials have warned that violence by Jewish extremists in the West Bank has spiked in recent months. Shin Bet officials told The Times of Israel in late December that Jewish extremist violence had increased by 50 percent over the past year.” (more…)